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The actor underwent laparoscopic surgery to receive her diagnosis
Amber Raikenin New YorkThursday 11 December 2025 21:17 GMTComments
CloseRelated: Lili Reinhart gives an 'honest glimpse' into 'mysterious' health battle
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Lili Reinhart has shared that she’s been diagnosed with endometriosis after doctors dismissed her pain.
The 29-year-old actor posted a series of photos of herself in the hospital Thursday, alongside a lengthy caption about receiving her diagnosis last week, after getting laparoscopic surgery.
“Last year, I saw a urogynecologist and was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis,” the Riverdale alum wrote. “I was told there was no cure—and no lasting relief—for my symptoms. Three hospital visits. Multiple urologists and gynecologists. And not one of them seriously considered endometriosis as the underlying cause of what I was experiencing.”
Endometriosis is “an often-painful condition in which tissue that is similar to the inner lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus,” according to the Mayo Clinic.
In the Instagram post, Reinhart said it wasn’t until she worked with “two different pelvic floor therapists” that endometriosis was mentioned as a possible source for her pain.
Lili Reinhart says her pain wasn’t taken ‘seriously’ as endometriosis before she got diagnosis (Getty Images)She then pushed to get an MRI done, and was diagnosed with adenomyosis, which is a condition similar to endometriosis. However, adenomyosis happens “when tissue that lines the uterus grows into the muscle wall of the uterus,” per Mayo Clinic.
“I met with an endometriosis specialist who helped me decide that laparoscopic surgery was the next step I wanted to take,” Reinhart continued. “While, at the same time, another gynecologist told me I ‘probably didn’t have endo’ and should just go on the pill.”
“I’m glad I trusted my body and listened to my gut and will continue advocating for others to do so. Endometriosis is an extremely misunderstood disease, leaving often a 4-11 year gap between symptoms and a definitive surgical diagnosis. It’s estimated 1 in 10 people with uteruses have endo according to the World Health Organization,” she concluded.
Along with the photos of herself in the hospital bed, the Look Both Ways star shared a picture of a note that read: “Believing women’s pain shouldn’t be revolutionary.”
Reinhart later went to her Instagram Stories to post a picture of herself in the hospital. In the caption, she expressed how much it meant to her to receive the endometriosis diagnosis after her pain was dismissed.
“I don't remember taking this horrible photo. But I think I wanted to capture a moment of post-surgery validation,” she wrote. “The second I saw my doctor I asked, ‘did you find it?’ And he said, ‘We found endo.’ And I felt so validated and relieved that I chose to listen to my body and pursue this surgery.
Reinhart initially opened up about her health challenges in January 2025. At the time, she said she had the “hardest year,” due to her symptoms of interstitial cystitis, a condition that causes an irritated and inflamed bladder.
She experienced her symptoms while filming American Sweatshop in Germany in 2024.
“The third night I’m there, I developed symptoms of a UTI,” she told Self in January. “I’m like, ‘I’ve had UTIs before. I’m a woman. We all know how it feels.’”
After a urinalysis, a “slight infection” was detected and the actor was sent home with antibiotics. However, she was forced to make two more hospital visits after she still felt the urgency to pee. Once she returned to Los Angeles, she sought out specialists before finally being diagnosed with interstitial cystitis.
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